How thick is clear coat?

[Toy_Cam_Ed]

Just wondering how thick clear coat is on a typical vehicle, and how much swirl mark correction/buffing it can take before you get down to the paint.

[Nth Degree]

Here is a link for a great write up on the subject:



How thick is your paint compared to common items (http://www.autopiaforums.com/forums/detail-institute-presented-autopia-carcare-com/37735-how-thick-your-paint-compared-common-items-pictures-writeup.html)

[togwt]

http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/136818-clear-coat-uv-protection-removal.html#

[Toy_Cam_Ed]

Thanks. It seems it is not very thick at all. I`m thinking I should lay off the buffing a little. Not that I`m having problems yet.

[Lowejackson]

There is nothing wrong with machine polishing. Even if the paint is very thin or half an inch thick you can still polish, you just need to be careful and always start with the least aggressive products first. With very thin paint the wise decision is to sometimes aim for removal of 80-90% of the defects

[Toy_Cam_Ed]

There is nothing wrong with machine polishing.

Except that it is very expensive for us poor folk. I would love to have a nice machine, but for now a cheap bottle of rubbing compound, a $1 applicator pad, and A LOT of elbow grease will have to do. And yes, my arms are killing me right now. But it does work if you can handle it.

[togwt]

Typical OEM Paint Thickness



Original equipment manufacturers (OEM) supply a specification to their paint suppliers that establishes a minimum film thickness necessary to ensure paint durability and enable them to provide a guarantee

• E-Coat ~33 µ (1.3 Mil) - an anticorrosion coat applied to both sides of the steel to prevent corrosion

• Primer ~18 µ (0.7 mil) - Initial protection layer with texture to assist the pigment layer in bonding to the metal beneath

• Base Coat ~15 µ (0.6 mil) - The basecoat is usually 0.5 to 1 mil thick



• Clear Coat ~48 µ (1.9 mil) - The clear coat provides gloss plus physical protection from the elements, including ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which is situated in the upper 1.0 – 1. 25µ (0.04 - 0.05 mil)



A micron (µ) is a metric unit that equals one millionth of a meter, or 1/1000 of a millimetre. A micron is much smaller than a Mil. One (µ) micron is roughly 1/80th of the thickness of a human hair. There are 25.4 millimeters in an inch and a micron is 1/1000 of a millimetre. Using the micron measurement gives you a much better idea of paint thickness because it`s so much smaller.



The following are the maximum allowable clear coat reductions the major USA car manufacturers will allow before the paint warranty becomes void; Chrysler- 0.5 Mil (12µ) Ford – 0.3 Mil (7.5 µ) GM – 0.5 Mil (12µ) (Source - Automotive International)



Be cognizant that ultra violet protection removal is not a liner process; and the first paint renovation will remove the most UV protection, therefore the above are probably conservative estimates. Two variables need to be established; how much clear coat is available and how much clear coat can be removed without compromising the paint systems long-term durability / paint warranty



A paint thickness reading of > 4 Mil ( 100 µ (Microns) is reasonably safe for polishing. 3 – 3.5 Mil ( 80-90 µ) I wouldn`t use anything stronger than > 2000 grit polish, 2.75 – 3.0 Mil (70-80 µ) > 2500 grit polish and under 2.75 Mil (70 µ) use a glaze. The readings tend to vary from panel to panel and are thinner towards the panel edge.



• 200µ + can be expected on older cars that have been hand painted or a re-painted vehicle

• 100 – 200µ 4 – 8 mil - normal paint thickness

• 80 – 100 µ - 3 – 4 mils, thin paint

• 80 µ < - less than 3 mil, very thin paint

[longsdetailing]

^

This was great info on OEM paint thickness, even if it is in general terms. I use a Highline Meter 2 and it works well for ferrous and non ferrous, albeit doesn`t read individual layers.